Thor, Gods and Deviants is a collection of four mini-series written by Robert Rodi and painted by various artists. The book is a great showcase for the fully painted art, and is a good book for fans of the character, but confusing for people who don’t understand the story behind the four different mini-series.
The first two stories are set in possible future, one where Loki gains the throne of Asgard, and one where Thor gains the thrown of Asgard. Things go bad in each one, and each story shows how their personalities are just not built for such leadership. The highlight of both is the fully painted art, and the stories show how well Rodi understands the characters in the Thor series over the years. However, both seem open ended, as if needing a sequel, and if you don’t read the introduction and understand Marvel continuity, they would be confusing.
The second two stories are set in current Marvel continuity and exist to clear up things from other stories, which can be a hard trick to pull off. The first story involves Ego the Living Planet, one of stranger antagonists in Thor’s pantheon. It changes that character’s origin, adds a new character to Thor’s past, and is able to pull these things off with a lot of action amidst the exposition. The second deals with the aftermath of an Eternals mini-series, and is far more talk driven with an over-reliance on past knowledge of the characters.
In the end, I think this is a decent trade for long time fans of the Thor comics, but not enough for people who come to the character either new or from the movies.